Wednesday 22 January 2014

Small Scale Kits by Jane Harrop and The Art of Mini......Fun but Fiddly!!

 I have recently been playing with a couple of smaller scale kits I bough with the Beach Hut in mind. The first is by Jane Harrop  and is in 1/48th scale I think. I thought it would be fun next to my 1/12th version.
 The parts are all very easy to assemble if a little bit fiddly for a bit of a sausage finger like me. I painted everything before putting it together as advised and used extra tacky glue to hold the pieces in place.
 I used matt emulsion paints because of matching the colours and I think this type of paint may be a tad too thick to use, or I should have thinned it down a bit
 The package includes very detailed instructions, a lovely coloured postcard of the finished item and a clear picture of all the pieces. Jane will be at the City of London Fair in February so I hope to be able to pick up another of her kits then.
The second kit is from The Art of Mini a miniaturist whose work I have looked at for a long time and whose stand is completely mobbed at the shows she attends. I think she is also having a stand at the February show which is amazing and I will definitely be joining the queues.
 This 'dolls house' shelving kit can be used for shelving or as a 1/48th house display I think. Again these pieces were all very clearly labelled and the whole piece went together very easily. Well apart for the roof dormer which looks a bit rubbish.
 I am terrified of touching it though in case the whole thing falls apart!! I will probably just touch up the paint. Again I definitely used the wrong paint  but I have learnt a lesson.
 At the moment it is sitting outside the beach hut and filling a big gap quite nicely. These kits are great for when you have to hide all your stuff away and can only work on a tray in a secluded corner.....like when all my kids are home and the other half has decided to take a couple of days off work. 
I am also thinking they would be very easy to play with when on holiday as you need so little equipment. I have a long plane journey coming up in March and I quite fancy seeing the look on my husband's face as I start getting out my glue and brushes!!
 A trick I used when making these was to use Lego structures to create my right angles and hold pieces in place. I found this tip on a website many moons ago and have not tried it before. It really does work very well indeed.
I have also spent most of the day painting the wood for Honeydukes. I had forgotten how long all these jobs take. Luckily there was lots of tennis on today so I was able to sit and be entertained while undercoating.
 These three pieces will make up the extra deep cornice that goes all the way around Honeydukes.
 Of course I did not have enough of the straight piece so I had to take a trip to Hobbycraft for some more wood. 
This will be the look of the woodwork obviously painted in green. Only ladies tennis tomorrow, which bores me to tears, so I will be laying the shop floor and hopefully the cobblestones too.

23 comments:

  1. Love the little kits Janice and you've put them together so well! They look great at the side of your beach hut!!
    Love your cornicing you've made for honeydukes too! I'm sure it will make a huge statement when painted and with the gold lettering on! :)

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    1. Hi Micheal, I think the cornice will be so important to the final look so I hope it will work!!

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  2. I hope so Michael. The trouble with this project is that it has such a defined look and I really want to get it right.

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  3. I've got a few of Jane's kits to put together..More on my to do list..

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  4. Hi Debbie, the quality of her packages is really amazing. You will be able to do them with your eyes closed!!

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  5. La casita de la playa me encanta.
    Besujis!

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  6. Hello Janice,
    Those kits are all amazing. they are such beautiful structures and offer so many possibilities. You did a great job assembling them...lego's rule. I cannot wait to see more. I look forward to seeing progress at Honeydukes.
    Big hug,
    Giac

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    1. Hi Giac, I have been working hard today on the cobbles and interior floor. Of course I ran out of cobble stones!!

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  7. They are wonderful structures, the detail is quite stunning.

    I am always excited to open a new build, then that slowly leaks away when I start looking at the 100 lazercut pieces just for the porch!

    All your long hours and hard work is going to look like a magic wand was waved ;) I am sure of it !

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    1. Hi Jane, this structure is very simple except for the windows, oh and the dormers, oh and the roof!!

      Ha! Ha!

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  8. Love the little beach hut kit. Very cute. I have a couple of her kits to put together too - a little french table and a noah's ark.

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    1. Oh do have a go with them. They are lots of fun and so much gets done so quickly.

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  9. Beautiful kits, Janice, you did a great job on them! It must be difficult to make these small ones. I am not familiar with the work of Jane Harrop, but Art of Mini is well known here in The Netherlands! Janny's miniatures is very popular on the fairs and it is always very crowded at their stand on the fairs ;)!
    Kind regards, Ilona

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    1. Hi Ilona, I did notice many more kit makers at the Appeldoorn Fair than at the fairs I normally visit in England and would really like to make more of my 'own' pieces in the future.

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  10. Los dos kits son perfectos y preciosos,estoy segura que harás maravillas con ellos!!!!! Seguiré tus avances.
    Besos.

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  11. Uffff, tienes mucho trabajo, te quedaran preciosos!
    Besos de las Malu´s.

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  12. I also have a beach hut kit from Jane Harrop and deck chairs. I still have to make them. I'm glad to read that it is easy to assemble.
    Geneviève

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    1. They are fiddly but essentially very easy to assemble. My door is fixed in place as I wasn't worried about it opening. I might even give the furniture kit a go!!

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  13. The little house is amazing.
    Greetings, Faby

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